Cathal Barry
Expert consultants are set to be appointed to Croagh Patrick in Co Mayo to help conserve Ireland’s Holy Mountain which has suffered substantial erosion in recent years.
Martin Keating, who is Head of Environment, Climate Change and Agriculture at May County Council and Chairperson of the Croagh Patrick Stakeholders Group, confirmed to The Irish Catholic that work on a package to procure consultants with upland experience in upland restoration is already underway.
“We would expect to have a package by the end of the month and the design and planning of it will take up the rest of the summer,” he said, adding that the “ultimate aim is that we hand it on to the next generation in better condition than we got it, and that we also hand on a sustainable model for maintaining it into the future”.
Up to 30,000 people are expected to climb Croagh Patrick on Sunday, July 31 for the annual Reek Sunday Climb.
Last year’s Reek Sunday Climb was cancelled due to the inclement weather.